02-07-2026
The new Portuguese artificial intelligence model, AMALIA, was officially launched at the Técnico Innovation Center in Lisbon and is now available in open-source format, ready to be integrated into public services and the business sector.
Following the presentation, the website IA.GOV.PT was introduced, the oficial artificial intelligence portal of the Portuguese Public Administration for promoting the use of responsible AI solutions by public bodies, citizens, and companies.
The session was attended by the Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, the Minister of Education, Science and Innovation, Fernando Alexandre, and the Minister for the Presidency and State Reform, Gonçalo Matias. Government representatives highlighted the important role of knowledge and research developed by Portuguese universities and stressed the importance of creating a model adapted to the Portuguese language and culture, which is essential for the sovereignty of language, culture, and citizens’ data, as well as for fostering research and innovation in AI.
NOVA FCT is one of the academic institutions involved in the consortium responsible for developing AMALIA, alongside Instituto Superior Técnico, the University of Coimbra, the University of Minho, and the University of Porto.
With initial funding of 5.5 million euros, granted under the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), the project involved around 60 researchers from several academic institutions and is part of a broader strategy to develop an open-source large language model focused on European Portuguese.
AMALIA was designed to better address the specificities of European Portuguese, with expected applications in areas such as citizen services, healthcare, defense, education, and culture. After an initial testing phase, completed in September 2025 with very positive results, the technology is now publicly available.
“This is an important step in positioning Portugal in artificial intelligence, also showcasing the talent and knowledge of academia in service of society and the country. At this moment, AMALIA provides a foundation for developing applications and exploring new horizons for AI in Portuguese in the future,” said João Magalhães, professor in the Department of Computer Science, researcher at NOVA LINCS, and one of the project coordinators.
